Hanson Are Launching Their Own Beer- And It’s Called MMMHop. For Real.

-Lucia Peters

You’re all probably going to hate me now, because I’m about to get a song stuck in your head. This song will play on your internal playlist for the rest of today. It’s possible that it will play for the rest of the week. It even—horrors upon horrors—might play for the rest of the year.

That song, of course, is Hanson’s 1997 hit “MMMBop.”

But before you REALLY start hating me, hear me out, because I’ve got good reason for getting this infectious tune firmly embedded in your brains. Even better, it involves alcohol. Here’s the deal: Musical brothers Zac, Taylor, and Isaac Hanson are getting ready to release their own beer. You heard me: Hanson beer. And yes, they are calling it “MMMHop.”

They revealed their master plan during a talk they gave at the Oxford University Union on Monday night. Said drummer Zac, “We of course make records, they are fundamental to what we do, but we wanted to create a brand so that our fans have a greater experience.” Zac went on to say that this experience may not include dolls or lunchboxes, but that it would soon include a little extra somethin’ somethin’: “It’s vital our fans have trust in everything Hanson do. In fact we are soon going to be selling our own beer. I’m not even joking. MMMHop IPA, anyone?”

Is it surprising that they’re branching out in this way? Actually, not so much. The brothers have quite an entrepreneurial flair; they’ve run their own independent record label, 3CG Records, since 2003, and they’ve got an impressive array of branded Hanson products ready for the picking. As Zac noted, the beer will be an India pale ale, and it will be released sometime in 2012. The fizzy, hoppy tang of IPAs tend to be great for warm weather, so maybe we’ll be looking at a spring or summer release (though that’s purely speculation on my part).

Oh, and for those who might be concerned about whether Hanson are legal drinking age, Zac, Taylor, and Isaac are now 26, 28, and 31 respectively. They’re also all married with kids. My, how the time flies! Remember when they looked and sounded like this?